A Love Bargain

019: Not a date 2

For the rest of the drive, It was dead quiet, since none of us bothered to say a word. There were a few times I caught him looking at me and my exposed thighs. Not long after, he drove into a minor road and then a building premises with lots of cars in the outdoor parking lot. He then fixed his car in a space and turned off the engine.

He unstrapped his seat belt and grabbed his phone and wallet from the car. Before I could finish fighting my seatbelt off, he already held the door open for me.

"Thank you," I said as I managed to smile.

Side by side, we walked to the entrance of the building; with me glancing around the place a few times, I caught some glances being thrown at me by some admirers, I supposed. It wasn't until a man walked past us, flashed a smile, and called me pretty that I noticed Kachi's hand brushing against mine before he intertwined our fingers.

My eyes widened in surprise, and when I glanced at him, he smiled at me before shifting his gaze back to the foyer. I didn't know his intention for doing that but it brought warmth to my heart. Gripping my hand a little tighter, our steps inched closer to the building.

My eyes darted to the words engraved into the wall and it read New Age Art Gallery. This man brought me to an art gallery and seriously, I loved it. We walked through the door and when my gaze flooded the interior, I couldn't help but wowed at what I was seeing.

"You would have just said what it is, this place is beautiful," I said to him as my eyes darted all through the inner space.

"I was thinking that maybe, you wouldn't want to come if I tell you," He said. With our hands still locked together, I glanced at him and our eyes met. "Is not everyone that loves art you know." He added.

"Well, I do... I haven't been to many art galleries but I love art. "I said, "Does that even make sense?" I smiled and he did just the same. 

"Well, here you are today. This place belongs to our friend... I mean, a friend of I and James, and today is the opening event." He paused. "And... I am glad to be here with you and not James." He added and a smile found its way to his face. Once again, it warmed my heart.

Finally, I understood what he meant earlier, and the fact that he was happy to be here with me brightened my mood. I felt a lot better and I was ready to feed my eyes, with the beauties etched onto all the corners of the sparkly white wall. I turned to the view in front of me, a space filled with contemporary art pieces, a few red balloons hung on the wall and some scattered on the beautiful marble floor. There were already many people in there, gallivanting from one art piece to another.

"Look who is here," a voice came, followed by some steps and I turned my attention to it. A beautiful, tall, light-skinned woman halted right in front of us. Her orange background colour, Ankara's papillon top, compliments her light skin, it suited the plain black trousers and the black heels she had on. Her braids were neatly packed in a ponytail. "No other but Kachi Phillips," she stretched out her arms, inviting him for a hug.

His hand slipped away from mine as he went in with a hug.  It was a brief hug and after that, he positioned himself right beside me.

"Where is James?" She asked, peeking behind us.

"He travelled to Lagos, for an urgent business meeting," Kachi replied, with a smile on his face.

"Let's hope the urgent business meeting isn't a woman," she chipped in and they both chuckled.

"It's business this time." He assured her.

"So?" The woman said, slightly pointing her face in my direction.

"Yeah, this is Pearl," Kachi said, glancing back and forth between us. "And this is Adelola, she is the friend that owns this place."

"Hi, welcome to New Age Art Gallery," she smiled with her hand out.

"My pleasure," I smiled, shaking hands with her. "This place is beautiful," I added.

"Thank you," she said, her face still maintaining the big smile she had on.  "You guys should go on and have fun," she gestured and then started walking away. We stared in her direction as she walked to a lady, who stood in front of one of the art pieces.

Side by side, we walked to the first piece of art on the left, and slowly, I moved to the next piece in line, which had caught my eye. A young boy with a big smile that shined across his face, his eyes equipped with innocence but at the same time, they told a story.  The art was beautiful and captivating.

My eyes slowly drifted away from it and fell on the next one, before I knew it,  there I was, standing in front of the piece. It portrayed the beauty of a mother breastfeeding her child, which oozed nurture and the bond between a child and a mother. It was such a beautiful art and just like that, I kept moving to all the fantastic artwork hung on the wall.

I was already immersed in all the amazing artwork, most of them, calming, some telling a deep story. Lost without any knowledge of what was happening around me, my gaze settled on another art piece in front of me. Some people might look at it and see nothing but a naked woman but I could see more than that.

The body of a woman is a fascinating art.

"Do you like it?" Kachi's deep voice came, breaking me out of my trance. My body froze as I felt his lower body brush against mine from behind. "I can tell Adelola to wrap it up for you," he added.

I was so engrossed in the artwork, that I didn't hear him walk up to me.

"It's beautiful," I huffed, calming my body, which was swept through by an electrifying sensation. "It deserves to be here for everyone to see, how much of a beauty a woman is," I added.

I bit my lower lip, wondering, What am I saying?

"Just like you, you are a work of art and God is the artist behind this captivating art," He said. A smile dawned on my face and as I slowly turned my face to him, his hand gripped my waist and then followed his voice. "Don't look at me, look at the art piece in front of you while I look at you, only you." His deep voice ruffled through my body, causing my heart to throb loudly against my chest. Obediently, I turned my face back.

At each breath from him that settled on the crook of my neck, I lost an ounce of concentration and before I knew it, his arms fully curled around my waist. Not being able to contain the riot going on inside my body, I slowly shut my eyes and my body succumbed to his touch.

I wanted us to stay like this forever, I wanted his arms wrapped around my waist forever. Those were the only lines that kept playing in my head.

As his breath grew heavier on my neck, I felt his face brush down my skin. Giving him room, I tilted my neck to the side. All I wanted was for him to kiss my neck down, as much as he wanted. My body riled up in excitement, and my heart continued to beat frantically as I waited for his lips to caress my skin.

Slowly, I could feel it, and slowly my skin heated. Slowly, it felt like we were the only ones in the room.

"Pearl," he breathed and I sucked in a shaky breath. "You're beautiful and you're doing things to me."

His warm breath evenly distributed goosebumps all over my skin, and every hair on my body stood high.

I held my hands to his arms, which were tightly wrapped around my waist, with my ass brushing against his hips. I slightly parted my mouth to call out to him but nothing was coming through it.

"Dr Kachi Philips..." A voice came,  crumbling down the wall we had built.

The wall we built against the rest of the world.

Who the hell does that ridiculous voice belong to?!